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Shrine of Salvation
The Shrine of Salvation (classified as KLIM-350, formerly KIM-350, by the Kakkan Containment Organization) was a section of the Staff of Vortices, modified by "Alchemist" to serve solely as means of transportation. It was later stripped of this ability and was used by the Toa Powai up until its destruction. History Prehistory The Shrine of Salvation was originally a section of the Staff of Vortices, a condensed piece of machinery located in its dish. It was forged on Spherus Magna long before the creation of the Matoran Universe and was kept by the Great Being Jayniss. When Jayniss was stripped of his powers and exiled into the Matoran Universe by his brothers and sisters, he kept the staff with him as the Wraith Syndicate pursued him, desperate for his staff. After learning of why he was being pursued, he abandoned it on Powai Nui, where the Syndicate eventually would seize it. Creation The Syndicate-hired Dark Hunter "Alchemist" immediately began his work on it, attempting to remove the functional portion of the staff's disc from the rest of it so that it could be transported more easily. He then got to work on modifying its powers, intending to streamline its ability to open portals. While doing so, the staff's self-defense mechanisms kicked in. "Alchemist" was able to disable these mechanisms partially, and as such it only lost its ability to accept orders as to where to open portals. To fix this, the Dark Hunter devised a voice recognition module based in Archaic Matoran and attached it to the staff piece to allow it to be activated. After Makuta Hysterix killed Tetradon, the leader of the Syndicate, in a fight, he asserted his authority over "Alchemist". As he desired the Mask Maker's Tool, another powerful artifact Jayniss had brought to the island, he and "Alchemist" took the almost-completed device to the Desolation River in Vo-Powai, where they used it to transport the Dark hunter through a portal and into the tunnel system of the KCO. After this was done, Hysterix was confronted by the Toa Powai, half of whom were able to enter into the KCO before the portal closed with the purpose of stopping "Alchemist" from stealing the Tool. Hysterix began to do battle with Maroona, Tesudin, Detras, and Salvina but put off anything pertaining the device until he had temporarily subdued all four of the Toa. Using his mental abilities, he ordered "Alchemist" to come out of the KCO. After he did so, the Makuta stretched his arm in through the portal and used his Elasticity power to snake his arm through the KCO in an attempt to seize the Tool himself. While doing this, however, Maroona struck him and the portal-opening device with a bolt of lightning, causing the device to malfunction and close the portal on the Makuta's arm. As he tried to regenerate his lost limb, the device continued to malfunction, and eventually violently dragged him in through a portal and into its own pocket dimension. Fearing that his body was being destroyed, Hysterix used his Great Kanohi Althi to expel his spirit from his body before it was completely consumed by the device. Great Regression After this incident, the device lost its ability to open portals to any location other than its pocket dimension. The Toa Powai took it, believing it to be entirely disabled. Several years later, a series of airships belonging to the Brotherhood of Makuta began to patrol the skies of Powai Nui. Receiving word that the ships would begin firing if any living Toa were detected on the island, Maroona (now a Turaga) frantically began looking for somewhere to hide the Toa Powai. Fortunately, she soon discovered that the portal-opening device still retained its ability to access its pocket dimension, at which point she dubbed the device the "Shrine of Salvation". She then hurried the six Toa into the pocket dimension. Due to the fear and panic brought upon the island's Matoran population by the "air raids", Maroona eventually lost the Shrine and was unable to find it even after the Brotherhood had left due to the perceived absence of Toa. Within the pocket dimension, the Toa went into stasis in order to survive. Meanwhile, the island's government shut down and the Matoran went into hiding, leaving Turaga Maroona and her two Maroona helpers, Arvos and Omakah, abandoned in the wild. Leskya Nuian Invasion Several decades later, around fifty Matoran and Toa survivors from the recently destroyed island of Leskya Nui appeared on Powai Nui and began to colonize the island. After a hostile first contact with the colonists, Maroona and her helpers discovered the Shrine of Salvation. She summoned Toa Navahko and Toa Corduk from it to protect them from a pair of hostile colonist scouts, who were soon released. Discovering that the device was still in use, the disembodied spirit of Hysterix began to tamper with it, causing Corduk to sporadically teleport between Powai Nui and the Shrine's pocket dimension. After investigating the incident to no avail, Maroona sent Navahko into the dimension to retrieve the Toa of Earth as soon as he teleported next. The Toa of Ice did as such and discovered that in the dimension, Toa Wreshi was strangely awakened and was acting hostile. He and Corduk did battle with the Toa of Stone (who, unbeknownst to them, was being possessed by Hysterix) until they were able to bring him back to Powai Nui, where Hysterix's spirit was dispelled and Wreshi recovered. Due to this incident, Corduk began to harbor a severe distrust for Wreshi. As relations between her and the Leskya Nuians worsened, Maroona summoned Salvina, Detras, and Lewok from the Shrine in that order. Corduk, Navahko, Wreshi, Salvina, and Lewok were sent down to the colonist camp at Lake Faradi to try and negotiate with them. Meanwhile, Turaga Maroona, Detras, and Arvos stayed up in the Desolation River to protect the Shrine. Sent by "Alchemist" as a part of a deal, Toa Vandir, leader of the colonists, used a Mask of Disguise to disguise himself as Omakah. As he had been ordered, he lied to Maroona about the threat the colonists posed and instructed her to give the Shrine a unique order that would help to protect them from the colonists. When Maroona gave this order, however, it pulled Hysterix's body out of the Shrine's dimension, allowing him to repossess it and regain some of his powers. Keelo's Empire After the negotiations at Lake Faradi quickly deteriorated into an intense skirmish, the colonist guard Keelo was mutated into a Toa of Earth, Fire, and Lightning by the Mask of Catastrophes. Using his newfound power, he formed his own small Empire from the colony and began his conquest of the entire island. Maroona, Corduk, Salvina, Lewok, and Arvos were able to escape the growing Empire's grasp with the Shrine. They retreated to the Desolation River, where they hid in the Aqueduct. As the Toa Powai eventually regrouped at the temporary base (with the exception of Lewok, who was captured by Keelo), they fended off any and all Empire attempts, keeping the Shrine firmly in their hands. They received word of a plan Keelo had devised, which involved a trapped duel between him and Detras, supposedly for the fate of the island, which would end in the Toa of Fire being killed mercilessly by an armed colonist squadron. The Toa developed a counter to this plan and decided to use the Shrine to trap Keelo and then attempt to reason with the colonists. At the site of the duel, the plan worked flawlessly, and Keelo was successfully placed in the Shrine's pocket dimension. As Detras began to propose an entente to the Leskya Nuians, however, Hysterix manifested and put him into the pocket dimension as well. He then destroyed the Shrine by crushing it in one of his clawed hands. After a large fight, Omakah sacrificed his life to wound the Makuta with the Mask Maker's Tool. Following a speech by Maroona, a large majority of the Leskya Nuians were convinced to stop fighting and were given hospitality on Powai Nui in exchange for help with undoing the effects of the Great Regression. Those who did not want to stay on the island left it on the Horizon Breaker with Vandir and Merdana. All the while, the broken pieces of the Shrine were handed to the KCO. Description The Shrine of Salvation was snowflake-like in shape, with six brown arms each ending in a downward-facing leg. On top of each leg was a single gem-like object that would light up when the device was activated. Previously, these lights were red; they turned white after its transportation ability was lost. While someone was within its pocket dimension, one would light up, signifying that the maximum number of beings who could be in the dimension at a time was six. Function Originally, the Shrine was capable of accessing all of the abilities of the Staff of Vortices. These included the opening of portals anywhere in the user's field of vision. In addition, if correct orders were given, it could open portals to areas that the user was unable to see, as long as they could describe the area well enough. If the description of a non-visible area was too vague, it would simply open a portal to its pocket dimension. After Maroona struck it with a bolt of lightning and it closed itself on Hysterix's hand, this ability was lost entirely due to the damage the device received. the only ability it retained was the ability to access its own pocket dimension. It is unknown whether it had this ability before it was damaged. The Shrine was only responsive to verbal orders spoken in Archaic Matoran, the language it was programmed in. Various words and phrases could be programmed into the device such that more cryptic orders that had little to do with what they activated could be given. Such is the case with its order to access its pocket dimension. Known Commands *Portals which are open for more than around a minute are closed automatically in order to conserve power Appearances * The Feral Plains - First appearance; Volumes ''I'', ''II'', ''III'', ''V'', & ''VII'' * Against the Storm - Volumes ''V'' & ''VI'' Trivia * When the Shrine made its first appearance in The Feral Plains, Cap had decided that it was exclusively used to store the Toa Powai. From Volume II and on, he began to slowly flesh it out, putting vague bits of the Shrine's history into the story. It was not until Against the Storm (which primarily served to answer the mysteries of TFP) was being released that Cap decided on it being a piece of Great Being technology. Category:Tools